She asks Micah, “What’s up, babe?”
“Did you say you washed some of my clothes?”
“Sure did. Check the dryer.”
He walks into the laundry room, and I shake my head. “Girl, you did good.”
By the time he walks back out, we’re both laughing. “Alright, alright,” he says. “You two are worse than high school girls.”
“I was just standing here minding my own business,” I protest with a smirk. “You’re the one walking out of the bedroom like you’re about to do a male revue.”
Micah waves his hand as if he’s shooing me away, but in the process, he drops his clean boxers on the floor. Next to me, Raeann whistles when he bends to pick them up.
He shakes his head all the way to the bedroom, leaving us in the kitchen dissolved in laughter like we really are pubescent girls who haven’t seen a male body before.
“So jealous you get to sleep with that.”
Raeann wipes the tears of laughter from her eyes then starts whisking the eggs. “You’ll get yours.”
“Goodness, I hope so.” I go to the fridge and take out the grapes, popping one in my mouth. “I’d even settle for one with one less ab row. I’m not picky.”
“Certainly not. He just has to look like a Greek god. What’s so hard about that?”
“Exactly.”
Raeann chuckles while starting the stovetop and placing a pan over the burner. After adding some cooking spray, she dumps the whisked eggs in the pan and adds salt and pepper. “Hope you want scrambled eggs.”
“Sounds perfect.” I admit, my own voice doesn’t sound as cheerful as it just was. Not that I have to get a man who’s packing like Micah, but joking about it makes me wonder if I’ll even get a man at all now. I’m sure there has to be one around who isn’t superficial, but it’s definitely not Levi no matter what he saysover those texts. Maybe he’s on some sort of journey to get right with a higher power, and he thinks being nice to me will make him win championships or something. Or just good juju for his life.
“What’s wrong?” Raeann asks.
“Letting negative thoughts win today, I guess.”
She stirs the eggs. “Care to share?”
I lean against the counter and face her. “Not really because you’re just going to tell me I’m wrong, and I’m going to agree with you verbally, but on the inside, I’m still going to feel the way I feel, so really, there’s no sense because I really don’t want to lie to my best friend right now.”
She peers up, squinting. “Tab. Whatever you’re thinking is valid. What happened sucks. You can rage, if you want. Let the lies win today. Eat ice cream, watch The Notebook and cry, but…” She stops with the eggs and moves over to me, grabbing my hands. “…tomorrow is another day. None of us know what’s going to happen, and based on my experience after trauma, you’re still going to have a beautiful life. One you probably never dreamed of.”
I smile, eyes heating. Raeann’s story really is inspirational. I hate that she had to go through a second tragic event when she recovered from the first so fantastically. “It seems hard to dream right now.”
She pulls me in for a hug while Athena whines next to us. “Then I’ll do the dreaming for you. We’re going to continue to be at the forefront of pet fashion. We’ll make it into Forbes magazine, showing women everywhere that they can be boss bitches, too. You’ll find someone who’s perfect for you, just like I did. Someone who came along with the exact right personality when you needed it. Someone who lives and breathes to make you feel safe and loved. Someone you’re so attracted to that you almost forget that real life exists outside of the bedroom.”
I don’t know how Raeann does it, but it’s like she knew I was lamenting about a man. I’ve never been the type to do that before. I figured he would come when it was right, but I’m not sure it’ll ever be right anymore. This guy will have to be damn near perfect in every way.
I clear my throat. “Um, Rae-bae, you’re burning the eggs.”
“Shit.” She turns, using the spatula to move the eggs around again. They’re a tad brown on one side, but they’re still edible. “Sorry, but we were having a moment.”
“We were.” I bite my lip. “And I hope you’re right. I’m not ready to say you are, but I hope you are.”
“That’s enough for right now.”
I pushRae-bae’s door with one finger. It creaks open, the sound ominous. Waiting a few moments, I stand still as if she’s going to jump out of the darkness and yell, “Gotcha!” followed by one of those disappointed looks when I know damn well she left for Pet Threads about an hour ago with Athena, and Micah is at some sort of football something or other.
I tiptoe inside and spot her laptop on a dresser when I flip the light switch. I don’t know why I’m being so secretive. Raeann and I use each other’s things all the time, but it’s not even about the laptop, it’s about what I’m going to do on her laptop.
Run reports.
